Sunday, January 9, 2011

We Mustn't Mention the NRA*Update*

As usual, whenever we have a high-profile case of gun terrorism, the usual suspects emerge to blame the situation on anything but the ridiculously easy access to firearms by anybody. In comments, the recent attempt is to blame the shootings on liberalism.

Even if we suppose Jared Loughner is the head of the DNC and the largest donor to the Democrats in history, it still doesn't address the fact he was able to get a gun and shoot 18 people, killing 6. What does address that fact is that a lobbying group, the NRA, and a small fringe group of fetishists enabled Jared Loughner to accomplish yet another mass killing.

I fully expect the gunloon community to ratchet up the rhetoric about Loughner reading Marx and smoking pot as proof positive he is a liberal while ignoring the fact he rambled about putting the nation's money on the gold standard and the problems with immigration (both popular ideas in GOP circles). Ultimately, of course, the goal is to protect the NRA.

Anonymous, Who exactly is "blaming the gun?" You guys keep saying that, but it's bullshit.

Here's what was said:

"the ridiculously easy access to firearms by anybody"

ACCESS, did you miss that part?

Your problem is, or maybe you're just pretending, that you think by blaming the easy access to guns, we don't feel we need to worry about any of the other factors. That's just not true. We're all for keeping violent criminals in jail, and fighting against poverty and poor education and unemployment. We're all for doing something about the illegal drug problems, even some of us think legalizing the whole business is viable.

But, we strongly feel that easy access to guns, so easy that a mental case like this Jared could legally buy, is part of the problem.